The Insomniac Club: For the few, the proud, the sleepy

It’s 2:00 a.m. and I’m still awake. I’m so tired that I can’t stop yawning, and with each yawn, tears form—yet, sleep won’t come. The digital alarm clock teases me, its glow saying, “If you fall asleep now you’ll get four hours of sleep.” I try again and after tossing and turning for 30 minutes I decide to read for a while. Unable to focus, I turn on the TV. I begin to fall asleep with the TV humming in the background, so I turn it off and seconds later my eyes spring open. I force them close again, but to no avail, I am awake again dealing with yawn-induced tears.

I sigh in frustration, give up for what may be the rest of the night and turn on my laptop to see if any of my fellow insomniacs are up. Not surprisingly, they are. With more than 30% of Americans suffering from insomnia, finding others awake at 3:00 a.m. is not a challenge; the Insomniac Club is always open.

The insomniac club’s motto is misery loves company. We love to hate on people who say things like “I can sleep anywhere” and/or “I fall asleep the minute my head hits the pillow.” Though we complain about our lack of sleep, we also wear it as a badge of honor, claiming our high levels of creativity and intelligence as deterrents to reaching REM (Rapid Eye Movement), the deepest level of sleep.

But it’s not a badge of honor. The benefits of more time awake to get more done aside, chronic insomnia is dangerous to our health.

Short-term negative effects of insomnia:

The physical alertness is decreased, affecting function.

Memory becomes impaired.

Thinking skills tend to slow down the processing of information so reaction is more often delayed.

Ability to concentrate or focus on tasks at hand.

Impairment of the immune system contributing to the risk of developing more chronic illnesses.

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I'm Libby! I work in nonprofit communications, write about the randomness of life, share a recipe or two, and occasionally perform 6-second concerts on Snapchat. Learn more in the About section.